| First Division - Day 5 | |
|
Mallorca 2 - Racing Santander 1 Mallorca: Leo Franco;
Olaizola, Fernando Niño, Nadal, Miguel Soler; Novo (Ibagaza 60'),
Engonga, Marcos (Carlos 65'), Finidi (Francisco Soler 75'); Eto'o, Luque.
4-4-2. Team changes: Mallorca: Leo Franco, Fernando Niño, Eto'o, Luque for Roa, Siviero, Ibagaza, Carlos / Racing: Preciado for Bestchastnykh. Goals: Mallorca came back from behind to record their first win of the season in a bottom of the table clash with Racing Santander that saw the two teams change places at the foot of the first division. Mallorca's inspiration came from Alberto Luque, the young striker who returned from a one year loan at Málaga this season, but who had not yet played a match due to international duty with the Olympic team in Sydney. Luque and Cameroon's gold medal winner Eto'o were drafted straight in to the side after the Balearic Island team had only managed to score two goals in their first four outings. The reinforcements were badly needed, with Stankovic and Biagini likely to be out for some time, and Siviero, Carreras and now Roa joining Luis Aragonés's long injury list. The Argentinian keeper is the main worry at the moment, and his dislocated shoulder may require surgery which could keep him out for a few weeks. That is not all bad though, as his replacement Leo Franco has an EU passport and made room for another foreign player, with the three places going to Eto'o, Finidi and substitute Ibagaza for this match. Racing also had many absences for this game, with Bestchastnykh suspended for two matches for insulting the referee in the last match and Arzeno serving a six match ban adding to their woes. Lemmens, Neru, Vivar Dorado and Billabona were still injured, so manager Goikoetxea decided to stick more or less to the same side, keeping youngsters Pineda and Nafti in defence and leaving Washington Tais at home. They were looking forward to this match against relatively easier opposition, having started the season with a nightmare programme which included three of the four Champions League sides, Deportivo, Barcelona and Real Madrid. For that reason their position is not as bad as it looks, and with Espina and Jaime gelling together well in midfield they should improve. They were looking shaky at the start of this match however, as Mallorca almost scored through Niño and then Luque in the first five minutes. Racing sat back looking for the counter-attack, and just before half time they scored against the run of play, Preciado dummying off the ball to leave Rushfeldt free in front of goal. Luis brought on Ibagaza early in the second half for Novo, and a minute later they were level, Luque rising to meet Olaizola's cross and head the ball past Ceballos. The manager was still not finished though, and he brought on yet another forward Carlos, needing to win this match not only to improve their position but also to break the jinx, his teams (Oviedo, Betis and Valencia) having not beaten Racing in five previous attempts. The pressure paid off, with the diminutive Carlos getting in between the tall defenders to head home Paco Soler's free kick before they knew what time of day it was. With three points finally in the bag, Luis Aragonés can rest a bit easier. The league's most veteran manager has been sacked more times than a rookie quarterback in his career, and once again his job was on the line. Although not yet clear of danger, things are at least starting to look up. The pressure now switches to Goiko, and his team have another six pointer next week at home to Numancia. Having failed to replace their two stars from last season, Munitis and Salva, albeit for economic reasons, they may well have condemned themselves to the big drop. What are we talking about! This is still only the fifth game of the season. Come back in about three months time and we will let you know. |
|
Results |